60-Year-Old Shaved Ice Shop in Anping: Chou's 安平周氏豆花
by Qian Leung
@ 31 Oct 2018
Located in the Anping ("peace") district of Tainan is a dessert shop known simply as '
Chou's'. "We've been around for 60 years," says Wang Pei Rong, 60. "When my uncle first started, he sold shaved ice from a pushcart, going from alley to alley." Back in those days, there was no refrigeration; her uncle had to drag ice blocks back every night. Aside from shaved ice desserts, the family also makes a soy bean pudding. Beans are first soaked at midnight, till 5am, when Wang's husband would arrive at the shop. In one hour, the pudding would be ready. Today, her daughter-in-law, Chou Hsin Yen, 36, helps out in the shop. "We have a white soy bean pudding, with glutinous rice balls that we make ourselves," says Chou. "There is also black bean pudding, which is less commonly seen." Even Wang's baby grandson is fed on their homemade bean pudding. "That shows just how natural it is," says Wang. The family is not looking to open many shops. "We just want to make good soy bean pudding, pure and natural, and pass it down to the next generation."
